Honor System (The System Series Book 4) Read online

  Honor System

  Book 4 in The System Series

  Andrea Ring

  The soul is finally revealed.

  Looking at Dad’s soul is like looking directly at the sun at high noon. The gold of his aura doesn’t shimmer—it bursts out in every direction like a firework frozen in mid-explosion. Thick bands of royal purple weave through the gold, and at the heart of the sunburst is a distinct band of blush pink, the color of Tessa’s lips.

  Kate has recovered and shivers in Kenneth’s arms several steps back from the couch. “You touched it, didn’t you? What did it feel like?” Kenneth whispers to her.

  I turn my head and watch her. She closes her eyes.

  “Like God.” A tear slips down her cheek.

  Table of Contents

  How Operating System Ended

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Chapter Forty

  Chapter Forty-One

  Chapter Forty-Two

  FAQs

  Book Excerpt

  The Go-Between

  Dedication

  About the Author

  Copyright Page

  How Operating System Ended

  I don’t think I’ve ever seen Dad laugh so hard as he did last night.

  We had a family barbecue, and we tried to put the impending deadline out of our minds, and we just enjoyed each other. Tessa and Jack had their phones out and were snapping photos and taking video all night.

  I suspect Erica asked them to.

  This morning, all that levity is gone. Everyone spent the night here, in sleeping bags on the living room floor (okay, Dad got the couch), and now we’re all so wound up you can hear us twang when we breathe. Dad’s scribbling in his notebook, Jack and Tyrion are occupying Em, and Tessa and I…we’re basically pacing the house, waiting for the nastiness to start.

  “Do you need to call your mom again and check in?” I ask Tessa. We’ve been talking to her every thirty minutes, but as it nears noon, I know Erica must be panicky.

  Tessa doesn’t reply. She just takes her phone out and dials.

  “Hey. No, nothing happening. Just giving you an update…What? No! No, Mom! It doesn’t matter. Whatever it is can…No! Shit!”

  “What is it?” I say, ready to jump into the car and ride to Erica’s rescue.

  “She’s coming over!”

  “What? Why? She can’t! We’re so close! She has to wait!”

  “She’s already in her car!” Tessa yells.

  I rush to the front door and yank it open. Erica pulls up to the curb at the same moment.

  “Stay there!” I yell at her as she steps out of the car. “Erica, don’t come in!”

  “I have to, Thomas,” she says. “I have to talk to him.”

  I reach her side and grab her hands. “It can wait until tomorrow. One day. It can wait.”

  “It can’t.”

  “What can’t wait?”

  We both look up to see Dad framed in the doorway. He looks sadder than I’ve ever seen him.

  “What can’t wait, Erica?” he asks again.

  “Oh, Mike,” she whispers. “I love you. Forever and ever, I love you.”

  Dad smiles, and a tear leaks from his eye. “I love you, too.”

  Erica steps away from me and walks around the car. She stops at the edge of the front lawn. “I’m pregnant.”

  “What?”

  Erica smiles through her tears. “I had to tell you. It’s only a week along, the night with the knife…I won’t come in the house, I’ll leave right now, but I had to tell you.”

  Dad bows his head. When he lifts it, tears are running down his face. And then a fierce light shines in his eyes.

  The best news of his life…

  “No, Dad!” I yell, but my father ignores me.

  He takes off running across the lawn and launches himself at Erica. She laughs and throws her arms around him.

  He gasps.

  Erica’s still laughing, still clinging, but I see Dad’s arms go limp, and I watch Erica suddenly take his weight, and her eyes widen as she realizes something’s wrong.

  I run over to them. I help her slide Dad to the grass.

  His eyes are stuck open, and his mouth opens and closes like a fish on land gasping for air.

  I grab my knife out of my pocket, slice Dad’s t-shirt open, and slash open his chest.

  Tessa, Jack and Tyrion crowd around as I cut open my palm.

  I press my hand to Dad’s chest and say a million prayers.

  Chapter One

  “I’ve got him stable,” I say, pausing in my work to look up at the tear-streaked faces gathered around us. “Let’s move him inside. Everyone help. Before somebody calls the police.”

  Jack and Tyrion move to Dad’s legs. Erica takes his head. Tessa squats down opposite me, sliding her hands beneath Dad’s torso.

  “Ready? Lift.”

  It’s a bit of a juggling act, but we manage to get Dad off the ground and into the house.

  “Floor or couch?” Erica yells.

  “Couch,” I say without thinking. I’m still pumping Dad’s heart and lungs, still keeping all his brain functions going, and I don’t want my connections within him to get yanked out of place. I truly don’t care where they put him as long as it happens quickly.

  They finally maneuver him to the couch, and I fall to my knees beside him.

  “What do you need?” Tessa asks.

  “Call Kate and Kenneth,” I say. “Tell them what’s happened, and that I’m stuck to him. Ask them to bring whatever equipment they can.”

  Tessa pulls out her phone.

  ***

  “Talk to me, Dad,” I whisper. “Tell me you’re here. Talk to me.”

  Thomas?

  Tears flood my eyes as Dad speaks to me in my head.

  I’m here. You had a heart attack. I’m hooked up and keeping your heart going.

  Dad mentally heaves a sigh. What’s the damage?

  Nothing major, as far as I can tell. I got in before any significant oxygen loss, so your brain’s fine. The problem is the coronary arteries. They’re clear, but they’re spasming, and the spasms are cutting off blood flow. I’ve got them stopped, but I’m actively stopping them. I haven’t been able to fix them.

  How long have you tried? he asks.

  Four minutes and thirty-three seconds.

  Dad is silent.

  That’s not very long, I think to him. Give me some time. I’ll fix it.


  I don’t think it’s fixable.

  I close my eyes. You can’t give up after five minutes! You can’t—

  Are there any damaged cardiomyocytes? Try healing them.

  Who cares about a few cells? I scream. We have to fix the problem—

  Thomas, just do it.

  I take a deep breath and heal a few heart muscle cells. The process is painfully slow—forty-two seconds and counting—but I finally finish.

  That’s good, Dad thinks, but even his thoughts are coming slowly. Now grow a new coronary artery and replace it with one of my old ones.

  The growth of the artery happens fast—I’ve got all the Protein T that I need, and since the artery isn’t actually hooked up to Dad’s ailing body, it happens in less than two seconds.

  I remove one of the damaged arteries and quickly replace it with my fresh one. But as soon as it’s connected, it begins to quiver. Then to my horror, it begins to liquefy. The lipids in the plasma membrane of the cells won’t stay clumped.

  I try again.

  I try eight times, but I cannot make the cells hold their form.

  “Dad,” I whisper out loud, and everyone in the room holds their breath. I can feel their eyes boring into my skull.

  I’ve hit my limit, Dad thinks. I knew my body wasn’t replacing cells as quickly as it should have, and I knew some cells were just refusing to grow at all. That’s old age.

  But you’re not old! I think. Not yet. It’s not ending like this. As long as you’re alive, I can figure it out.

  As long as you’re hooked up to me, I’m dooming you to the same fate, he thinks. Let me be. I’ve had a good life. I’ve said my goodbyes.

  “You can’t just give up! You have a baby on the way!” I scream out loud.

  And then I freeze.

  A baby.

  “Tyrion!” I cry, and he appears by my side. “I have some of the blood, from when you healed me. It’s in the fridge.”

  “How did you—”

  “It doesn’t matter,” I say. “There are two vials. It should be enough for me to work with. I’ll just clone the cells once they’re in Dad’s body.”

  “We need syringes,” he says. “Do you have any?”

  I shake my head.

  Tessa is already on the phone to Kenneth. “They’re at least an hour out,” she says. “I could run to the drug store and pick up a box.”

  I slump down and try to find a comfortable position for my hooked-up arm. “We might as well wait. I want the backup just in case.”

  Erica comes and kneels down next to me. She strokes Dad’s hair. “Hold on, Mike. Help is coming.”

  Chapter Two

  We should probably be discussing the upcoming procedure, planning, SOMEthing, but everyone’s eerily quiet.

  Fatigue is starting to set in. I can feel my heartbeat speeding along, trying to keep up with my demands, and it’s draining my resources. I should have planned for this. Why the hell didn’t I eat spaghetti for lunch?

  “I need some Dwellerade,” I say to the room, and all the women hop to their feet.

  Tessa runs to the kitchen and comes back with a bottle and a protein pill. I down both and swipe my mouth with my free hand.

  “Grab me another bottle.”

  She thrusts a second bottle under my nose.

  “You’re good at this assistant stuff,” I say. I hold out the empty bottle to her, but she shakes her head.

  “Keep it. You’ll probably have to pee soon.”

  Emmaleth giggles.

  Then we all laugh. Our nerves just seem to bubble over.

  When I compose myself, I wave Jack over.

  “Can you take Emmaleth out? I don’t think she needs to see this.”

  Jack frowns. “I’d like to stay. I’m seeing…I’m seeing things, Thomas. He’s on the edge.”

  I raise an eyebrow. “Dad’s on the edge? Like, his soul is ready to leave his body?”

  She nods. “I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s tethered to his brain, literally, like…like his will is keeping his soul with his body.”

  “His brain, not his heart? If anything, I would’ve thought it would be the heart holding the soul.”

  Jack’s eyes are riveted to Dad’s face, and I watch her shiver. “Definitely the brain.”

  Interesting.

  “I’ll take Em out for a walk,” Erica says. She bends over Dad’s head and kisses his forehead tenderly. “I’ve got my phone. Call if anything changes.”

  “I’ll go, too,” Tessa says. She kisses my cheek. “Tell him we’re praying hard.”

  ***

  After Tessa, Erica, and Em leave, Jack takes a seat by Dad’s head, and Tyrion sits by his feet.

  “What do you think of my research now?” Tyrion asks.

  I sigh. “Let’s not fight. I’ve never had a problem with the results, just with your methods. And I still don’t agree with your methods. You could have reached the same conclusion without using babies as lab specimens.”

  “But I would not have done it in time to save your father. I would not have done it in time to save you, and you are the one currently keeping your father alive. The research was worthy. Admit it.”

  “Why are you pushing this now?” I hiss. “Back off. I’m under enough stress as it is.”

  “Tyrion, stop baiting him,” Jack says. “You were right. You can gloat later.”

  Tyrion pouts but manages to shut up.

  Dad? You still there?

  Just taking it all in, he thinks.

  You okay with what we’re about to do?

  Not really. But what are my options? Erica’s pregnancy changes everything. I have to do whatever I can for my child. Don’t I?

  I swallow. Do you think I’m a bad person because I took Tyrion’s cure?

  No, he thinks. You didn’t know what Tyrion had done until you were already cured. I don’t blame you for that. But the fact is, now we do know. We know that babies were used as specimens against their will. They were denied a loving family. Can I willingly profit off of that and still live with myself?

  Like you said, the alternative is to have your child grow up without a father. For Erica to lose the love of her life. For me and Tessa and Jack to lose you. For the world to lose your future research. I think you’ll just have to learn to live with it.

  Could you? he asks.

  Dad’s in my head. I can’t lie, so I don’t bother trying. No, I think. But we are not the same person. I wish I were a little more like you.

  I feel Dad smile. And I wish I were a little more like you.

  Chapter Three

  It takes Kate and Kenneth almost two hours to get here, and then it takes an hour more for Jack and Tyrion to help them unload everything and get it set up.

  I drink two more bottles of Dwellerade and take two more pills. And when their backs are turned, I fumble one-handed with my zipper and manage to position myself so that I can pee in an empty bottle. Gross. My urine is so protein-packed that the smell permeates the room.

  When everyone returns, Jack wrinkles her nose and gives me a knowing look. She holds out her hand, and I give her the bottle.

  “You owe me for this,” she says, heading to the trash bins outside. I can only nod.

  They hook Dad up to a ventilator, similar to what was done to Olivia Brooks when I healed her. Kate gets an IV of water and electrolytes going for him, and then we prepare for the injection of Tyrion’s stem cell-laced blood.

  “Start with the heart,” Tyrion says. “Fix the arteries first, then you can clone the cells and start to replace his blood with the new cells. My process takes about five hours, so I predict it will take you at least twice that long.”

  I ignore him. If I start to think about a ten-hour, concentration-intensive procedure, I’ll lose it. One step at a time.

  Jack goes to the kitchen to retrieve the vials of blood, and Kate rips open a sterile alcohol pad.

  “He doesn’t need the alcohol,” Kenneth says. “Thomas can kill any germ
s that enter the body.”

  Kate leans over and rubs the pad over the crease in Dad’s inner elbow. “Like he needs something else to worry about,” she says.

  Kenneth grins at me over her head, and I smile back.

  As Kate is straightening up, she suddenly goes rigid, her eyes rolling back in her head.

  “Kate?”

  Kenneth rushes to her side and wraps his arms around her. “Kate?”

  And then I see it. We all see it. A collective gasp threads the air, and no one moves.

  Dad’s soul shimmers just above his head.

  ***

  Jack described it to us once. She said the soul is like an aura, an aura of brilliant color. She said Dad’s is gold with ribbons of purple and a band of pink.

  Jack lied.

  Looking at Dad’s soul is like looking directly at the sun at high noon. The gold of his aura doesn’t shimmer—it bursts out in every direction like a firework frozen in mid-explosion. Thick bands of royal purple weave through the gold, and at the heart of the sunburst is a distinct band of blush pink, the color of Tessa’s lips.

  Kate has recovered and shivers in Kenneth’s arms several steps back from the couch. “You touched it, didn’t you? What did it feel like?” Kenneth whispers to her.

  I turn my head and watch her. She closes her eyes.

  “Like God.” A tear slips down her cheek.

  “I’ve got them,” Jack yells from the kitchen, and we all turn to her voice, awaiting the magical serum.

  “I’ve got—” she says as she rounds the corner and comes into the living room, and we watch as her eyes widen and a high-pitched keen leaks from her throat, and she stumbles over her own two feet, and it’s like a movie you have on DVR, where you push a button and the sound turns off and the action speeds up in slow motion, because you’re skipping ahead two seconds at a time, and you know what’s happening, but you can’t catch all of it, it’s skipping…

  We watch Jack drop the vials of blood. Her hands fly to her mouth, and then she realizes what she’s done, and she reaches back out to catch the precious bottles, but they’re past her hands…they’re at her knees…

  They’re shattering on the wood floor.

  Jack falls to her knees amongst the glass shards and red liquid.

  Tyrion whips out his phone and wanders out the front door.